Newsstand: February 20, 2012

Happy Family Day! Do you even care about the news today? Are you even awake yet? Well good, 'cause today's a slow one, kids: Gary Webster may not be the only transit manager on the chopping block; old TTC buses are slated to retire; Ryerson Architecture professors confirm smartness; and U of T grad students are curating a collection of brass psychological instruments.

If we’ve learned anything from our city’s ongoing transit debacle, it’s that Mayor Rob Ford doesn’t like to be disagreed with. It’s therefore unsurprising—though no less frightening—that, in addition to a recent push by five city councillors to fire the TTC’s Chief General Manager Gary Webster, rumours are now afoot that other senior transit managers could also be sacked for so-called disrespect toward the mayor.

Never thought you’d feel nostalgic for a bus? Think again—or just know that you were right: Apparently it’s the end of the line for more than 900 “New Look” TTC buses (y’know, the older-looking ones?), which will soon be commuting to the scrap yard after 50-odd years of service. Again, slow news day.

If you were ever in doubt that architects were super smart/cool/capable (sorry, bit of a crush on architects here), the latest innovation to come out of Ryerson University’s Architecture program proves otherwise. Architectural science professors just released the Ryerson Architecture Mobile app. Using geolocation data, the app gives historical and aesthetic information and photos of more than 90 city landmarks, and is mostly free.